Masai Ujiri was asked directly about Jason Kidd's future at his introductory press conference on Tuesday. He praised him as a Hall of Famer but committed to nothing.
New Dallas Mavs president Masai Ujiri held his introductory press conference Tuesday and was asked directly about Jason Kidd's future as head coach.
He did not give a straight answer and that non-answer is the most important thing he said all day.
"I had a conversation with Jason Kidd yesterday and I will meet with him," Ujiri said. "He's a Hall of Fame player who has done a great job, but we're going to look at it from head to toe. That's the right way to look at an organization and evaluate it in every single way that we can. I talked to him and I will hear his thoughts on where he sees us."
Ujiri stopped short of guaranteeing there would be no coaching change before next season. That is notable because Kidd has four years remaining on his contract after signing back-to-back extensions in 2024 and 2025. Moving on from him would cost real money.
Ujiri did offer one piece of historical context that leans in Kidd's favor. He pointed out that when he took over in Denver he kept George Karl in place and when he arrived in Toronto, he retained Dwane Casey for multiple seasons. The pattern suggests Ujiri is not someone who comes in and immediately clears the bench; he evaluates first.
There are reasons to believe Kidd stays. Patrick Dumont leaned on Kidd heavily since Nico Harrison was fired and was reportedly seeking a president who would be comfortable keeping Kidd as Cooper Flagg's coach given the strong relationship the two have built.
The circumstances around Kidd's record deserve more context than a simple won-loss breakdown. According to Spotrac's injured list tracker, Dallas ranked second in the entire NBA in salary lost to injuries this season, trailing only the Indiana Pacers.
At various points, the Mavericks had seven players on the injury report simultaneously. Kyrie Irving missed the entire year with a torn ACL and Dereck Lively II had season-ending foot surgery in December. Evaluating Kidd's 205-205 record without acknowledging that context is not an honest assessment.
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The record does not tell the full story and Ujiri knows that. Kidd has coached through two of the most injury-riddled seasons in recent franchise history and that context will factor into how much patience the new president extends to his current coaching staff.
The answer on Kidd will likely come before the NBA Draft in June. Ujiri needs to know who is coaching before he makes roster decisions and draft selections. For now the job is not guaranteed. In Dallas, that is news.